Commissar Pancakes

Wasn't that before they got a gun that was effective and cheap-as-balls to manufacture?

It looks like they take a slight pause after every two steps.

...as in it was too hard? Or as in "HOW DO THIS?!"? For me, it would probably be either Europe in Flames, or The Art of War. ...maybe a bit of Steel Panthers as well...(I was 10 when I played these...). I had a strange gaming childhood...I could start the day enjoying Spyro the Dragon and the Lords of the Relm II and then suddenly switch over to Jane's AH-64D Longbow or iM1A2 Abrams: MBT simulator. Hell, I even tried Jagged Alliance: Unfinished Business and couldn't even get passed the helicopter crash at the beginning (I didn't know how to progress onto the world map). All I ended up doing was executing the [rather cowardly] pilot.

Massacring things in Starbound. Massacring things in FTL: Advanced Edition. [being massacred by] things in STALKER: CoP's Misery v2.1. Replaying (and massacring in) Alice: Madness Returns. Attempting to finally get around to finishing the Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer.

"Command! I require more meat for the grinder! And make sure they aren't all cowards this time!" -Commissar Pancakes

It would, however, make a more interesting version of the movie "Foodfight" where Earth pretty much bludgeons the Aliens away with material sustenance, such as our [apparently] galaxy-changing invention of...edible ball-bearings...?

Perhaps, but we also have to remember that these are weaponized lasers, meaning that the intensity of the beam has to be orders of magnitude above what we currently are using. Back to the topic, I think that the production times are fine. Ballistics are still useful when you are manufacturing the weapons (as long as you have two full workshops...) and are effective enough to tide you over until you bring out the flashlights and annoy everything to death. As a side note, the laser impact animation makes it look like the weapons are firing giant blobs of strawberry jello.

Not necessarily. Example: The US has utilized stealth technology in the air force for decades. However, just because we've used it for so long doesn't mean that we can whip out B-2 Spirits in a a couple weeks of construction time. Plus it's not just building the darned thing, its the testing of the weapon to make sure that it works correctly. Something as delicate as a B-2 Spirit or Laser rifle has to go through extensive trials (on a unit-by-unit) to make sure that it doesn't fail in the field just because of the cost that already went into its construction. Especially since Laser tech is new to the 1979 humans: they don't always know what would f*ck it up at the drop of a hat, so they must iron out any production defects that arise. Hell, there's probably a bottleneck on capable personnel in dealing with the amount of experience needed in both construction and tech.

Except that every single trooper (aside from the KS donor faces) is randomly generated, with their names spliced together from a pool of first and last names.

Considering how Xenonauts is set in 1979, I'd think just the thought of creating a laser is pretty much fantasy for much of the world's scientific population. The aliens just gave us a chance, though we're pretty much groping in the dark. Besides, think of how much effort is required in actually putting the rifle together. How exact must the power well, emitter, heat-sink, and focusing lens' be set to make sure that the rifle is effective in combat, or to simply make sure to not turn its wielder into a giant crater in the ground from an overloaded battery?

If I remember correctly, this was actually an unreached stretch goal for the kickstarter...

Soviet training is best in world! Makes men strong! Like bull!

Nope. I just listen to the screams of dying Xenos as I burn them from whatever unholy crevice they spawned from.

While I did succeed in the end, it was when I assaulted the first base of my current playthrough...in September...only to find that it was Androns... ...let's just say my entire team spent an inordinate amount of time in the first room talking over things while Drones and Androns sprayed plasma through the doorways...only managed to succeed through copious amounts of C4 and machinegun spray. ...still lost my best marksman and spent the better part of a month recovering from it though...

*fixed.

And autocannon would definitely be interesting to use.

I'd have to agree with Stellar. The small ammo loadout for the Ferret with the rockets I can understand, considering how it'd be madness to have the crew reload spent launchers in a combat situation even though it's modeled with only four launchers. For everything else however, it seems that their cost as fire-support platforms coupled with the low amount of shots for their main cannon (9 shots for the laser cannon I believe) regulate it to just blasting targets that we deem requiring death as immediately as possible. I only ever fire the main gun maybe twice or three times each mission just to conserve ammo for "potential" threats. On survivability, it feels...okay. The Ferret is destroyed at the drop of a hat, but it's an armored car, while the tanks can take a few shots before its taken down, though two or three aliens firing upon it can pretty much wreck it in a turn or two...

But...! BUT HOW WILL WE GET THAT AUTHENTIC OG X-COM CIVILIAN MADNESS?!

Well somebody is certainly a sour sport.

Certainly made for an interesting story though! Perhaps they (the filthy xenos) should finally learn that assaulting humanity is not a good idea since we're all utterly INSANE. Back onto the topic of Terror missions, I'd certainly love increasing the amount of NPCs (for both sides) that spawn. While the civilians would simply become all that more aggravating, what with them running around like headless chickens, I'd certainly love to see more firefights between regular military troopers and the aliens.

Alien XO: "Commander! The humans have sent us this strange, primitive package with thin sheets of plant fibers and markings on it!" Alien CO: "Well open it! What are they blathering about now?" Alien XO:"It's...a list of indictments they've placed upon us...along with a list of complaints...and..." Alien CO:"And...First officer?" Alien XO: "...a Congressional Subpoena...?" Alien CO: *sweats* "A...subpoena?! We'll be mired in paperwork and bureaucracy for the next twenty years! ALL SHIPS! RETREAT TO PLUTO!"

Don't forget that you can manually save on combat missions as well.

Perhaps, but then we run into the issue that the player may not see those messages.

Or lurk. Lurking as also a good idea. ...Watching... ...Judging...

FOOL! Pancakes are NOT for eating! Pancakes are for DECIMATING YOUR ENEMIES AND GRINDING THEM BENEATH THE TREADS OF HOLY WAR MACHINES.